parks department

Long Bridge Park aquatics center pool to close early until summer for needed repairs

By Daniel Egitto
Olympic-regulation diving boards at the Long Bridge Park Aquatics & Fitness Center (staff photo)

(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) The 50-meter pool at the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center will have shorter hours for several months for needed repairs.

The pool area will close at 8 p.m., about two hours early, on weekdays starting next Monday, Jan. 29 to replace leaky pipes and water-damaged ceiling tiles caused by a corroded sprinkler hose, the Arlington County Dept. Parks and Recreation said in a press release. Weekend hours will not be affected.

The faulty sprinkler and the damage it caused were discovered by the contracting company given the $60 million contract to design and build the facility in 2017, Coakley Williams Construction, the county says. Coakley Williams will handle all the maintenance work and pay for the repair costs.

After attending to the 50-meter pool, repairs to the leisure pool will begin in early April. Its temporary operating hours will be available at a later date.

All repairs should be complete by this summer, the county said.

Some classes held at the pool have shifted their schedules because of the repairs. Affected participants will receive emails with more details.

It’s not the first time infrastructure issues have troubled the $70.7 million recreation complex. Delays in installing electrical power caused a $1.2 million increase in construction costs for the facility, which opened in 2021. An electrical emergency then caused the center to close briefly last April.

More information from the press release is below.

Repair Schedule

The repair schedule will begin with the 50-meter pool area on January 29. For the duration of the 50-meter pool repairs, it will be closed to the public by 8 p.m.— two hours early on weekdays, and the current closing time on weekends. Crews will work at night from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. to allow for a maximum number of operating hours. Through the duration of each phase, the work area will be sectioned off to allow programming to take place in other parts of the pool. During the daytime, scaffolding equipment will remain in the areas being addressed to allow for quick transition to maintenance work once the pool is closed. The leisure pool will operate as normal until repairs begin in early April. Details of this schedule will be shared at a later date. All repairs to both pools are estimated to be complete by summer, 2024.

As repair work begins at 8 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, the fitness rooms will also continue to operate on a normal schedule.

Adjusted Programming and Operating Hours

Most Winter ENJOY and 55+ classes will continue this season. To accommodate as many programs as possible, some classes have been shifted to either a different time or pool area. Class cancellations have been limited and are only being instituted for those that cannot be moved. Participants who have signed up for Winter ENJOY and 55+ programs at LBAFC will receive direct emails that detail adjustments to their program and refund options if they choose to use them. Program adjustments for these classes will not begin until the first day of repair work on January 29.

All LBAFC membership and passholders, as well as daily passholders, may use open sections of the pool during the adjusted operating hours. To see when lanes are open for drop-in use, please refer to the pool hours and lane schedules page. The schedule is updated with the week’s programming schedule every Sunday.

We look forward to a speedy and efficient repair process and want to make sure you stay in the know! To get the latest information, sign up for updates at the bottom of the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center webpage.

County to solicit more feedback on potential deer management strategies next year

By Jo DeVoe
Deer grazing in the forest (via Arlington County Dept. of Parks and Recreation/YouTube)

Arlington County will kick off the New Year with the next phase of engagement on its forthcoming plan to manage its deer population.

A study found two years ago that Arlington’s deer population exceeds healthy levels, with the county’s forested areas home to about 20 and 39 deer per square. About 1.5 years ago, the Dept. of Parks and Recreation began considering a management plan in response.

Today, the department is considering three ways to lower the population, including sharp-shooting, citizen hunting and sterilization. Another option, fencing off trees, would focus on tackling a purported effect of “overbrowsing,” when large deer populations eat too much of the forest understory.

Some naturalists welcomed the culling options presented. The Animal Welfare League of Arlington, which provides animal control services for the county, meanwhile, champions non-lethal options and has criticized the process so far as “one-sided.”

Early next year, the parks department will host a virtual information session to introduce a second round of community engagement on potential deer management strategies, according to a new timeline it published today (Monday).

Deer management outreach timeline (via Arlington Dept. of Parks and Recreation)

Residents can also expect a new feedback form and have the chance to participate in more community meetings before DPR crafts draft recommendations, the timeline says.

These recommendations will be the subject of a third round of public engagement — including another feedback form — before DPR drafts and releases final recommendations.

At some future point yet to be determined, County Manager Mark Schwartz will take action on the final recommendations, per the timeline.

Although this work continues well into 2024, some local environmentalists say the county should have strengthened its discussion of deer management in a forthcoming county master plan governing stewardship of trees and natural resources.

“The role of high white-tailed deer numbers and invasive plants should be more clearly articulated in the environmental degradation of Arlington’s forested areas and included in the plan’s priorities,” Climate Change, Energy and Environment Commission Chair Joan McIntyre wrote in a letter to the Arlington County Board this fall.

“Reducing deer numbers and treating invasive plants are both critical to restoration of our natural areas,” she continued.

The Forestry and Natural Resources Commission expressed its concern that the plan did not treat overbrowsing specifically as a forestry management priority.

“Independent scientific research has ‘noted that tree regeneration failure is widespread and that without active deer management, ecological health of Arlington County’s natural areas will likely continue to degrade,'” writes commission chair Phil Klingelhofer.

The Planning Commission is set to review and vote on the final draft of the Forestry and Natural Resources plan tonight (Monday), teeing up the County Board for a vote on Dec. 16.

The Board authorized this month’s hearings in October. At the time, Board member Takis Karantonis noted he would spend the next two months talking about deer, among other topics.

“There is no question… we are out of balance, we have species that are abundant because we have killed or eliminated factors that balance their population,” he said at the time.

Of deer, the draft plan says “many” Arlingtonians note that expanding deer populations are having “harmful impacts.”

“General sentiment favors striking a balance between managing negative impacts of wildlife while also protecting habitats that benefit Arlington’s ecosystem,” the plan says.

It resolves to inform management with surveys on existing and emerging pests and “high-impact organisms.” By way of example, the plan highlights the 2021 deer count that determined Arlington County had unhealthy deer population levels.

Going forward, “such surveys will be critical to identifying threats early, informing management efforts and can tie into education campaigns,” the plan says.

Pickleball has come to the Arlington County jail

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

The hottest new pickleball club is the Arlington County Detention Facility.

Two weeks ago, the jail inaugurated its new pickleball court — installed by Arlington’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation — with a three-day tournament.

Two dozen inmates matched up for “thrilling competitive play” after receiving lessons from an inmate services counselor and the parks department, according to Arlington County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Amy Meehan. (In addition to other assorted law enforcement duties in Arlington, the Sheriff’s Office runs the jail.)

The new pickleballers came from three rehabilitative programs in the jail: the Addictions, Corrections and Treatment program, the Community Readiness Unit and the inmate work program.

“Participants learned, practiced and played for three days, reviewing the rules and demonstrations from Parks and Rec, culminating in a pickleball tournament where they had the opportunity to form teams and compete in doubles matches,” Meehan said.

After the tournament ended, Sheriff Jose Quiroz attended the championship match and shared a small presentation, she noted.

Quiroz first floated the idea of a pickleball court while campaigning for Sheriff ahead of the Democratic primary this June, to improve the health of inmates and stave off burnout among sheriff’s deputies.

“Participation was great and each morning when staff arrived, the individuals were already practicing and playing,” Meehan said. “Equipment was provided for individuals who want to continue playing and several not only thanked staff for providing them this opportunity but also were given locations where they will be able to play in Arlington upon release.”

Arlington to move forward with pickleball courts at Walter Reed after mulling a pause

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

Arlington County will continue with plans to build dedicated pickleball courts at the Walter Reed Community Center.

The county had mulled pausing the project, putting the question to community members in a survey this spring.

“Respondents were slightly more in favor of continuing the project, though it should be noted that respondents who identified as players are more in favor of continuing and those self-identifying as neighbors were more in favor of pausing,” Dept. of Parks and Recreation planning director Erik Beach told the Board on Tuesday.

DPR will forge ahead because the sport has health benefits and the center needs renovations either way, he said.

“The county firmly believes in the benefits of providing places for its residents to receive the physical and mental health benefits of being outside, recreating and socializing,” Beach said. “DPR has observed in real-time and validated through professional literature the opportunity provided by pickleball to be a catalyst for those physical and mental benefits.”

The county has selected designs that would:

  • increase the distance between future courts near 16th Street S. and residential homes to a distance of about 170 feet
  • add acoustic fencing to both sets of courts and landscaping in between
  • add a deck to protect a large existing tree and provide respite space
  • improve circulation for people with disabilities
  • increase parking spaces by four
  • resurface the basketball courts

An online survey about the proposal is open now through Dec. 8 and could inform tweaks DPR makes before selecting a contractor by the third quarter of 2024.

Columbia Heights Civic Association President Ron Haddox, meanwhile, is skeptical of the most recent survey. In a letter to the Board, he said the survey circulated in pro-pickleball online forums nationally and internationally, attaching screenshots.

He says pickleballers recommended people submit responses multiple times across platforms and identify as county or 22204 residents, “even if they were not.”

“This obviously concerns us and calls into question the genuineness of at least some portion of the feedback received,” he said.

Beach told the Board that DPR tried to improve the quality of the data by removing several hundred comments from people at least 10 miles away from the community center. In the age of virtual private networks, Haddox says, this may not have done much.

“The use of DPR’s anonymous survey methodology and subsequent efforts to enhance its usefulness have very likely resulted in skewed results that have limited usefulness other than to let the county know that nearly EVERYONE on BOTH sides of this issue is against the idea of permanent courts at WRCC,” he said in a letter to the County Board.

(more…)

Bounce houses return to Lubber Run and Madison community centers starting this Saturday

By James Jarvis
Kids inside a bounce house (courtesy of Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation)

Starting this Saturday, Lubber Run and Madison Community Centers are set to become a haven for young bounce house enthusiasts.

Sponsored by the Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation, the event, dubbed “Open Bounce,” runs every Saturday through April 6 — except for the Saturday before Christmas.

The event makes its grand return after being paused for several years due to the pandemic. The cost is $5 per child between the ages of 3-9 and adult supervision is required.

The first Saturday of each month will take place at Lubber Run, with the remaining Saturdays hosted at Madison, according to the parks department’s website.

Registration is required and tickets go on sale at midnight two weeks prior to each event. The sale ends at 8 a.m. on the day of the event.

Lubber Run Community Center

Located at 300 N. Park Drive, Lubber Run Community Center plans to host three one-hour sessions on the first Saturday of every month.

  • Session one is 9:30-10:30 a.m.
  • Session two is 10:45-11:45 a.m.
  • Session three is 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Madison Community Center

Madison Community Center at 3829 N. Stafford Street will offer one general public session from 10:45-11:45 a.m. on the remaining Saturdays of the month.

Madison also provides specialized party packages. These two-hour sessions cost $200 and include a private bounce house and party room for up to 15 children. A $15 fee applies for each additional child, up to a maximum of 25.

  • Party Option 1: 9:30-11:30 a.m. in Room 2
  • Party Option 2: 12:30-2:30 p.m. in Room 4
  • Party Option 3: 12:30-2:30 p.m. in Room 5 (Note: the party room use is during the first hour and the bounce house during the second.)

Arlington to host family-friendly Halloween-themed activities next week

By James Jarvis
1/3

Spooky season is upon Arlington and the county parks department has a few family-friendly activities in store.

Next week, families can gather around the campfire for ghost stories and s’mores or take slightly spooky evening nature walks.

First up is the Virginia Ghosts Campfire at the Fort C.F. Smith Park fire ring, held next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 5-6 p.m.

“The whole family is invited to join us at the Fort C.F. Smith Park fire ring for lots of old-fashioned fun and of course, s’mores,” the county says.

Around the campfire, storytellers will narrate Algonquin legends, Virginia witch trials and ghosts of the Civil War, among other ghost stories, a county spokeswoman said.

There is a $5 fee to register and the parks department requires registration by 4 p.m. the day before the event. As of publication, there is a waitlist for next Friday’s time slot.

Next Sunday (Oct. 29) afternoon and evening, the Long Branch Nature Center will host a Nature Spooktacular from 3:30-5 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m.

“Join us for a ‘Spooktacular’ evening of fun learning about nighttime animals and cultural festivities surrounding nature this time of the year,” the county says. “[The] later time will be just as fun and a little bit spooky for families with older children.”

The parks department suggests that families with young children sign up for the earlier slot, which promises to be “more fun and less spooky.” As of today, there were open spots for both available time slots. Registration is required and comes with a $7 fee.

Other family-friendly Halloween events this month are sold out or have waitlists.

Registration is closed for this weekend’s Trunk or Treat at the Lubber Run Community Center. People can add themselves and their pets, meanwhile, to the waitlist for the Halloween Animals Campfire next Saturday at the Long Branch Nature Center.

Photo (1) via Arlington County/Facebook

Long Bridge Aquatic Center pool hours limited due to lifeguard shortage

By James Jarvis
Long Bridge Aquatic Center’s 25-yard lanes, which can be turned into a 50-meter pool (staff photo)

Starting tomorrow, Long Bridge Aquatic Center will limit its pool hours due to a lifeguard shortage.

On Monday, Arlington County announced that, beginning Thursday, the 50-meter competition pool would operate on a “revised schedule” on Thursdays and Fridays due to a “national lifeguard shortage.”

“We are aiming to minimize the impact as much as possible by closing the competition pool on Thursdays from 12-4:30 p.m. and Fridays from 4:30-10 p.m. through the months of October and November,” Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) spokesperson Jerusalem Solomon told ARLnow.

There are no planned activities during these adjusted hours and the leisure pool will be open for lap swimming, she added.

Below is the new schedule for the pool provided by the county.

Thursdays:

  • The competition pool will be closed from 12-4:30 p.m., followed by regularly scheduled closures for aquatic programming from 4-5:45 p.m. The pool will reopen at 5:45 p.m.
  • The leisure pool will be open for “family play time” and lap swimming from 12:30-3:30 p.m.

Fridays:

  • The competition pool will be closed from 4:30-10 p.m.
  • The leisure pool will be closed for classes between 4:30-10 p.m.

The shortage is partially because many students who lifeguard during the summer have returned to school, Solomon said.

She also acknowledged the county has had trouble finding applicants who meet the “necessary requirements” for the job.

“Lifeguards must successfully complete a lifeguard certification. In the past, DPR has required that all applicants already be certified, but DPR now offer certification courses free of cost to new hires in an effort to widen our applicant pool,” Solomon said.

For the aquatic center to be fully operational, Solomon says there needs to be ten lifeguards on duty at all times. To meet that standard, she noted the county would need to hire between five and 10 permanent part-time and temporary lifeguards.

DPR currently has an online job listing for “multiple permanent part-time and temporary Lifeguards” at the aquatics center, which opened in 2021.

The lifeguards would “work shifts as primary guards in the facility and monitor two bodies of water, including a 50-meter pool and a leisure pool with a water slide and other play features,” the job listing says. The listed hourly pay is $17.00-$23.44.

Arlington to host Fall Heritage and Latino festivals next week

By James Jarvis
1/3

A trio of family-friendly activities put on by Arlington’s parks department are slated to take place next weekend.

Among the events are two festivals, one offering the chance to make autumnal crafts pilgrim-style and another celebrating Latin American culture.

Fall Heritage Festival

Next Saturday, Oct. 14, from 1-5 p.m., the county is set to hold its annual Fall Heritage Festival, this time at Fort C.F. Smith Park in the Woodmont neighborhood.

“Step back into history and try your hand at some old-time games and crafts, make a corn husk doll, churn butter, dip candles and work the cider press,” the county website says. “Bring your old pants and shirt to make a scarecrow — child sizes work best.”

Tickets are $7 for residents and non-residents. Admission is free for children under the age of three.

The cutoff date to register for the event is Friday, Oct. 13 at 4 p.m.

Festival Latinoamericano

The Festival Latinoamericano will be held the next day, Sunday, from 1-5 p.m. at the Arlington Mill Community Center.

“The festival welcomes hundreds each year and will include a full array of live music and dance, great local vendors, interactive children’s entertainment, delicious food, and exciting community spirit,” the county website says.

The full programming line-up will be posted soon, the website suggests.

Saturday Teen Nights

The next Saturday Teen Night will take place Saturday, Oct. 14, from 7-10 p.m. at Lubber Run Community Center.

Attending teens can play basketball, life-size foosball, esports and boardgames, show off art projects and hang out with animals, per the county website. Admission is free for Arlington Public Schools students enrolled in a local middle or high school.

Teen Nights occur on select Saturdays and are scheduled through April.

Gunston Park playground and picnic area to get $1.2m renovation

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

The playground at Gunston Park is expected to be replaced starting late next year as part of a $1.2 million renovation project.

Arlington’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation has released two concept designs for the park, located at 1401 28th Street S., near Gunston Middle School. Residents can provide feedback on these designs online through Thursday, Oct. 19.

The impetus for the work is that the park’s playground area “has reached the end of its useful life” and all play equipment — as well as site furnishings and a picnic shelter — have to be removed, parks department spokesman Adam Segel-Moss explains in a video.

“This Parks Maintenance Capital project will include demolition, site work, and design and construction of a new playground and picnic shelter,” the county says on a project webpage. “This project will also address grading and drainage, site circulation, site furnishings, landscaping, and stormwater concerns.”

No new amenities are planned for the Capital Improvement Plan-funded project, the county adds.

The new playground will be in the northwest portion of park, next to a parking lot, diamond field and basketball court. Segel-Moss says DPR last heard from residents in February 2022 about what the new playground should look like.

“There was an overwhelming desire for new, soft and resilient playground surfacing within play areas,” he said.

People also requested more seating areas, trash cans, slides, swings and climbing structures and fencing, with separated play areas for the 2-5 and 5-12 age groups, he noted.

DPR will focus on improving accessibility for people with disabilities, catering to different age groups and making other upgrades, while overcoming “inherent limitations,” such as space constraints, tree preservation and drainage issues, Segel-Moss said.

“We have several other exciting prospects, such as creating spaces for different age groups, improving the picnic area and seating, enhancing the park’s visual appeal through enhanced plantings and addressing stormwater erosion issues,” he said.

The parks department has narrowed down these ideas to two concept designs.

The first concept for the new Gunston Park playground (via Arlington County)

The two share many of the same features, including new fencing, stroller parking and seating areas.

Some differences include the addition of sculptural benches in the first concept and, in the second concept, a “smaller but greater variety of play structures and a larger connected looping pathway,” Segel-Moss explains.

The second concept for the new Gunston Park playground (via Arlington County)

Although they are illustrative only, Segel-Moss also showed pictures of what the new play equipment and picnic shelters could look like.

The first shows hexagonal play structures for 2-5 and 5-12 year olds, swings, a pergola-style picnic area and sculptural benches.

Play equipment and site furnishing examples for Concept 1 (via Arlington County)

The second illustrates the addition of a climbing area for older children to other kinds of play equipment as well as a different style of picnic shelter.

Play equipment and site furnishing examples for Concept 2 (via Arlington County)

The questionnaire is open for two weeks and a final draft concept will be prepared for feedback this winter.

The Arlington County Board could review a contract in the fall of 2024 and, if the contract is approved, construction could begin that winter, ending in the fall of 2025.

Previous park renovations include converting the diamond field from grass to synthetic turf.

Payment issues continue for some residents who registered for DPR fall classes

By Jo DeVoe
A credit card sits on a laptop (via CardMapr.nl/Unsplash)

Some Arlington residents may have hit another pitfall while registering for fall classes with the parks department.

It appears some may have been charged more than once for the same purchase, according to social media posts and receipts reviewed by ARLnow. The Arlington County Dept. of Parks and Recreation confirmed this afternoon that it has heard from registrants who have been inadvertently charged multiple times.

After registration opened last week for fall ENJOY classes, DPR said its credit card system was malfunctioning. It asked those who were attempting to register on Thursday to pay using an electronic check until the issue was resolved.

One parent reported he was charged three times for one purchase and knows others who faced similar problems.

The parks department confirmed the issue could be related to the malfunction from Thursday.

“We’ve been alerted of the issue and have staff working on diagnosing the problem,” spokesman Jerry Solomon told ARLnow. “At this moment, we are unable to identify the specific cause, but believe that it is related to the issue experienced with the third-party processor last Thursday. Staff is actively reconciling and processing the refunds for those who have been double charged.”

“We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to resolve this issue and will continue to look for ways to improve the process moving forward,” she added.

Last week, Solomon said the snafu only affected registration on Thursday and was resolved within an hour. By 1:20 p.m., more than 3,600 people were able to successfully register for classes. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, the system logged more than 8,000 total registrations, including more than 7,000 completed online.

“We will have a better sense of what occurred today once our payment processor has diagnosed the issue,” she said at the time.

Resident walk-in registration for the fall classes began on Friday. Starting this Wednesday, those who live outside the county will be able to start registering, according to the 2023 ENJOY booklet.

The parks department has been battling technical problems during the class and camp registration processes for the past few years, at least in part due to the high volume of parents trying to register their kids for classes at the same time.

Photo by CardMapr.nl/Unsplash

Parks department reports credit card payment issues during fall class registration

By Jo DeVoe
A frustrated technology user (illustration by ARLnow)

(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) Registration for fall classes through the parks department hit a snag this afternoon.

Spots opened up Tuesday for this fall’s slate of recreation and nature and history classes, dubbed ENJOY classes. Today, however, users may have experienced a slow system with error messages not authorizing credit card payments or delays receiving receipts.

Early this afternoon, the Arlington County Dept. of Parks and Recreation announced it was having technical difficulties with accepting payments by credit card.

In posts on social media, DPR encouraged people to instead pay by eCheck as it does not go through the same payment system as credit cards.

About 30 minutes later, the parks department said the issue had been resolved.

DPR spokeswoman Jerry Solomon tells ARLnow the payment snafu only briefly affected registration today. Between Tuesday and yesterday, she said, the system successfully logged more than 8,000 total registrations, including more than 7,000 completed online.

“The payment issue was only experienced during today’s registration,” she said. “We posted on our webpages and social media to make sure the community was aware, however as soon as the issue was rectified, people were able to resume their registration process as normal.”

Just after 12:50 p.m. the parks department received the all-clear from the payment processor that the system is fully functioning. By 1:20 p.m., more than 3,600 people were able to successfully register for classes, Solomon noted.

“We will have a better sense of what occurred today once our payment processor has diagnosed the issue,” Solomon said.

There was an issue with the payment processor during the Summer ENJOY registration process but she said it is unclear if this issue is the same.

“During the summer, staff were able to quickly respond by sharing an announcement online, helping callers, and making arrangements for payment by eCheck or at a later date,” she said.

This bug may be new but DPR has a history of issues with its registration platform.

In recent years parents would wake up bright and early, mouses at the ready, they would encounter problems logging in and navigating error messages — due to the crush of people trying to register at the same time.

Longstanding issues bubbled over last year when, despite efforts to beef up the system, it still crashed. County leaders put pressure on DPR to study what went wrong and develop a corrective plan. The break down also prompted the county to focus on ensuring departments properly vet technology services vendors.

After some tweaks and the addition of a wait room, this year’s summer camp registration process seemed to go off without a hitch — only for this new credit card payment issue to arise.

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